Thread fastening and cutting device for spools



(No Model.)

. Z.B.0SGOOD.

THREAD FASTENING AND CUTTING DEVICE FOR SPOOLSL No. 590,851;

Patented Sept.. 28, 1897.

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NIT-JED PATENT Erica,

ZENAS B. OSGOOD, OF DAMARISCOTTA, MAINE, AssIcNoR, DY DIRECT AND MEsNEASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE-HALF To WALDRON H. RAND, WILLIAM B. RAND, AND THOMASWATSON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

THREAD FASTENING AND CUTTING DEVICE FOR SPOOLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 590,851, datedSeptember 28, 1897.

Application filed December 29, 1896. Serial No. 617,307. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ZENAS B. OSGOOD, a citizen of the United States,residing'at Damariscotta, in the county of Lincoln and State 5 of Maine,have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Thread Fastening andCutting Devices for Spools, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

[ My invention has for itsobject to provide a simple and inexpensivedevice by means of which the delivery end of the thread on a spool maybe easily, quickly, and securely fastened in such manner that undesiredloos I ening and unwinding of the thread'shall'be prevented, and so thatsuchend may be easily grasped and released when it is desired'to takeanother piece of thread from the spool; also by means of which, when theproper length of thread has been withdrawn from the spool, the portionthus withdrawn may be severed, so that the ends at the place ofseverance will not be frayed but will be cleanly terminated, andtherefore will be in condition to be readily passed through the eye of aneedle.

My invention is fully set forth in the following description, and thenovel features thereof are pointed out and clearly defined in the claimat the end of this specification.

In the following description reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is an end elevation, and Fig. 2 is 5 aperspective View of a spool such as is used for thread with my device.attached thereto. Fig. 3 is a perspective of my device detached.

In the use of common sewing-thread the.

free or delivery end of the thread tends to become loosened and tounwind, and this results not only in a waste of the thread but also inconsiderable annoyance to the person using it. In withdrawing a portionof thread suiiicient for one needleful from a spool the por- 5 tionwithdrawn requires to be disconnected from the portion on the spool.NVhen broken, the end of the thread is frayed and is not in the bestcondition to be readily inserted in the eye of a needle. My inventionobviates the difficulties first referred to by securely holding the endof the thread and thus preventing wastage and annoyance, and it meetsthe requirements as to a cutter, which is attached to the spool, and istherefore always in convenient position to cleanly and quickly sever thethread. The invention embodies an arrangement of the holder relative tothe cutter which leaves a sufficient portion of the thread'that'is woundon the spool projecting from the holder or fastened to enable suchportion to be seized when it is desired to withdraw another portion fromthe spool. The device may also, as will be clear from the form of itwhich is shown in the accompanying drawings, be applied to a commonspool and will not interfere with the use of the spool on any machineknown to me.

The device is very simple and will be readil y understood from thefollowing description:

At A, I have shown a spool of common form. B is one end of the spool,and C is the hole through the center thereof. My device preferably isformed from thin sheet metal such, for example, as steel. It comprisesan intermediate or body portion 2, which lies against the flat end ofthe spool, it having formed at one end thereof an offset portion 3. Thisportion 3 preferably is curved slightly to conform to or approximatelyconform to the curve of the edge or periphery of the head B of thespool, and it overlies the said periphery and is in contact therewith orvery close thereto, so that a slight strain is required to draw thethread in under the end of said portion 3 and between the said portionor projecting end thereof and the edge or periphery of the said head orend B of the spool. The portion of body portion 2 with which the part 3is connected is narrowed to form a neck, thus allowing the end of thepart 3 to constitutea projection under which the thread may be drawn.The opposite end 5 of the body part 2 is provided with the severingdevice, the latter preferably being formed integral with said part 2.The sev- 5 eringis effected in a slit or out 9,that is formed in theslightly-enlarged portion 5 of the piece of sheet metal, from which, aspreviously stated, the device is preferably formed. The free extremity 6of thepart 5 is slightly bent I00 in a direction away from the face ofthe end B of the spool, so that after the thread has been drawn underthe end of the holding part 3 and firmly clamped thereby it may bepassed readily under the said end 6 and into the slit 9, after Which aslight strain serves to sever the thread. A notch 4 leads the threadinto slit 9. In consequence of the thread being held fast by the clamp 3all the strain put upon the thread acts at the slit 4 and insures andfacilitates the severance at that point.- As Will be clear, the precisecontour of the device, as also the dimensions thereof, are notessential, but may be varied. The portion of the thread extending fromthe clamp 3 over the outer surface of the device to the slit 9, asindicated in Figs. 1 and 2, is in position to be picked up readily whenit is desired to draw a fresh quantity of thread from the spool.

For the purpose of securing the device to the spool so that it may bereadily attached or detached therefrom I provide it With a splitcylinder 7 of a size adapted to be passed into the hole 0 and affordfrictional contact with the Walls of the said hole. The split cylinder 7is secured at one end thereof to the part 2 by means of a neck 8, thesaid neck being of sufiicient length to properly position the cylinder 7with reference to the part 3. By employing a split cylinder the cylindermay be slightly enlarged or decreased in diameter to tightly fit thehole 0 in the spool. As will be clear, the device, including the splitcylinder 7 for attaching it to the spool, may be formed integral bystamping out or otherwise forming a blank of proper shape from sheetmetal and subsequently bending the blank to form the finished device. Aswill be clear, the split cylinder 7 is not an essential feature of mydevice. Any Wellknown means of attaching the device to a spool in suchmanner that it maybe readily detached therefrom may be employed. It

will also be clear that in case my device is to be secured in suchmanner as not to permit the ready detachment therefrom any wellknownmeans of securing the device to the spool may be employedsuch, forexample,

as a nail or nails or the like. By providing my device With a means ofattachment wherebyit may be readily attached to and detached from thespool the device may be removed when a spool is empty and applied toanother spool.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings the coils of thread are supposed toextend around the spool in a direction corresponding With the directionof movement of the hands of a Watch and the free end of the thread isdrawn backwardlythat is, toward the left and across the top surface ofthe body portion 2. In order to enable the device to be used Where thecoils extend either in the direction just noted or in the oppositedirection, the clamp 3 preferably is formed double ended, as showntl1atis to say, the ends thereof project on opposite sides of the neckadjacent to the same. This enables the device to be used Whichever maybe the direction of the coils on a spool of thread, for it enables thefree end of the thread to be slipped under one end of the clamp or theother end thereof, as the case may be.

\Vhat I claim is- The combination with a spool of the clamping andsevering device applied thereto comprising the body portion lyingagainst the fiat end of the spool and having a slit 9 therein located ata distance from the edge of the head of the spool, and also having theclamp 3 overlying the edge of the said head of the spool, the said clampserving to compress the thread against the said edge and therebyoperating to hold the thread, the thread being carried into the saidslit in order to effect the severance of the same and being exposed onthe said body portion intermediate the clamp and the slit to furnish anend to be seized for the purpose of drawing a fresh length off thespool, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ZENAS I"). OSGOOD.

lVitnesses:

E. E. PHILBROOK, WM. B. RAND.

